Two years of data-driven development is reaping rewards as AMF1 becomes a podium regular in 2023
What does it take to make a good team great? Since 2021, Cognizant has been working with the Aston Martin Formula 1 (AMF1) team to show the world how data-driven performance can drive success. Joining forces as part of the manufacturer’s re-entry into F1 after a 61 year absence, the mission was to not only act as a sponsor but to become a true partner in the team’s mission. In 2023, the results of intuition engineered are being seen on the F1 podium.
Formula 1 is one of the world’s truly global sports, with hundreds of millions of fans watching races taking place across six continents. Achieving greatness is about precision analysis and efficient iteration – skills Cognizant was eager to bring to the race track.
“If you set the car up incorrectly, or the driver blinks at the wrong moment, you can lose anywhere from 0.1 to 0.2 seconds on each corner,” says Rob Walker, president of global growth markets at Cognizant. “That tenth of a second per corner is the difference between finishing third or finishing 15th.”
Many factors feed into shaving milliseconds from a car’s lap times. Topline speed, DRS speed, cornering speed, downforce, acceleration performance, aerodynamics, and so many more. Every factor can be measured in clinical detail and tested constantly.
Under current F1 regulations, to level the playing field across teams, strict limits apply to how much testing can be performed. The use of a wind tunnel is restricted, as well as limiting the production of model cars to a single unit at one-third scale. With such tight controls over physical testing systems, delivering on your engineering goals requires an intuitive operating model. Predicting the right choice from a wealth of possibilities in real-time takes deep experience and data-driven insights enabled by intelligent and automated business processes.
“The way you use data to model and simulate is critical,” says Walker. “During a race, we’re dealing with three Terabytes of data coming from the car during one race. So a lot of the work we do is helping Aston Martin flow through that data, using computer models to analyse it. We’re not going to say we are Formula One aerodynamic engineers, but we have a pretty good at understanding data.”
"We’re not going to say we are Formula One aerodynamic engineers, but we have a pretty good at understanding data,” says Walker.
Teams are also limited in the staff they can bring to each race, so data is not only used on site but also streamed back to Aston Martin headquarters in Silverstone, England, in real-time. Engineers there are also responding live and relaying decisions back to the pit team wherever they may be in the world. For Clare Lansley, CIO at AMF1, this speaks to the need for a unified approach to data informed decision making.
“It means a detailed approach to data governance, storage, analytics and management,” says Lansley. “We’ve been collaborating with data experts at Cognizant to define and drive our data strategy to unlock the Petabytes of information we have and leverage it to make our cars go faster. With their expertise in modernising core platforms, data and analytics, and cloud, Cognizant has enabled us to build products once and then rapidly scale with confidence.”
Cognizant expertise is now embedded within AMF1 engineering departments, including within the aerodynamics team to help make particle imaging more intuitive through the use of AI and machine learning.
“Having a centralised database is incredibly important for us and ensures we can run the entire organisation efficiently,” says Dan Fallows, Technical Director of AMF1. “It’s about finding efficiencies, producing parts quickly, generating answers to questions we’re asking ourselves daily with that intuitive advantage. Cognizant is giving us the insight and speed we need to get solutions onto the racetrack as quickly as possible.”
Later in 2023, the new $370M AMF1 factory will open its doors, a 37,000 square metre factory built next door to Britain’s famed Silverstone race circuit. And Cognizant has also played a role in its design and data capabilities for the team’s future.
“Both AMF1 and Cognizant view intuition as an enabler of high performance. It’s great to have a partner who really understands the impact that intuition based on insights and data can be the difference between success and failure.” - Dalton comments.
“Cognizant provided Internet of Things smart factory expertise, which has helped us design the most modern, efficient building in F1 today,” says Kate Dalton, Head of Brand and Marketing at AMF1. “Both AMF1 and Cognizant view intuition as an enabler of high performance. It’s great to have a partner who really understands the impact that intuition based on insights and data can be the difference between success and failure.”
Rob Walker quotes originally published in Forbes Australia.
